Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB63 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.B. No. 63
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to reports of child abuse or neglect and certain
6	6	preliminary investigations of those reports.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 261.104, Family Code, is amended to read
9	9	as follows:
10	10	Sec. 261.104. CONTENTS OF REPORT; NOTICE. (a) The
11	11	individual [person] making a report shall identify, if known:
12	12	(1) the name and address of the child;
13	13	(2) the name and address of the person responsible for
14	14	the care, custody, or welfare of the child; [and]
15	15	(3) the facts that caused the individual to believe
16	16	the child has been abused or neglected and the source of the
17	17	information;
18	18	(4) the individual's name and telephone number;
19	19	(5) the individual's:
20	20	(A) home address; or
21	21	(B) if the individual is a professional as
22	22	defined by Section 261.101(b), the individual's business address
23	23	and profession; and
24	24	(6) any other pertinent information concerning the
25	25	alleged or suspected abuse or neglect.
26	26	(b) If the individual making a report of child abuse or
27	27	neglect uses the toll-free telephone number the department operates
28	28	for reporting child abuse or neglect and the individual is
29	29	unwilling to provide the information described by Subsection
30	30	(a)(4), the department representative receiving the report shall
31	31	notify the individual that:
32	32	(1) the department is not authorized to accept an
33	33	anonymous report of abuse or neglect;
34	34	(2) the individual may report the abuse or neglect by
35	35	making a report to any local or state law enforcement agency; and
36	36	(3) the identity of an individual making a report
37	37	under this subchapter is confidential and may be disclosed only:
38	38	(A) as provided by Section 261.201; or
39	39	(B) to a law enforcement officer for the purposes
40	40	of conducting a criminal investigation of the report.
41	41	(c) The department representative or other person receiving
42	42	a report of child abuse or neglect shall use the person's best
43	43	efforts to obtain the information described by Subsection (a).
44	44	(d) If a report of abuse or neglect is made orally, the
45	45	department or local or state law enforcement agency receiving the
46	46	report shall:
47	47	(1) notify the individual making the report that:
48	48	(A) the report is being recorded; and
49	49	(B) making a false report is a criminal offense
50	50	under Section 261.107 punishable as a state jail felony or a third
51	51	degree felony; and
52	52	(2) make an audio recording of the report.
53	53	SECTION 2. Section 261.201, Family Code, is amended by
54	54	adding Subsections (m) and (n) to read as follows:
55	55	(m) An employee of the department may only have access to
56	56	the identity of the person making a report of alleged or suspected
57	57	abuse or neglect under this chapter if:
58	58	(1) the employee is directly involved with an
59	59	investigation, case, or other process involving the child who is
60	60	the subject of the report or the child's parent or other person
61	61	having legal custody of the child;
62	62	(2) the employee supervises, directly or indirectly,
63	63	an employee described by Subdivision (1); or
64	64	(3) the employee has any other legitimate professional
65	65	interest in an investigation, case, or other process involving the
66	66	child who is the subject of the report or the child's parent or
67	67	other person having legal custody of the child that necessitates
68	68	access to the identity of the person who made the report.
69	69	(n) The department shall adopt rules to implement
70	70	Subsection (m).
71	71	SECTION 3. Section 261.304(a), Family Code, is amended to
72	72	read as follows:
73	73	(a) If an individual makes [the department receives] an
74	74	anonymous report of child abuse or neglect by a person responsible
75	75	for a child's care, custody, or welfare to a local or state law
76	76	enforcement agency and the agency refers the report to the
77	77	department, the department shall conduct a preliminary
78	78	investigation to determine whether there is any evidence to
79	79	corroborate the report.
80	80	SECTION 4. Section 261.307, Family Code, is amended by
81	81	adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
82	82	(c) Before taking any action under Section 261.304, a
83	83	department representative must provide to a parent or other person
84	84	having legal custody of a child who is under investigation:
85	85	(1) information regarding the representative's
86	86	identity;
87	87	(2) the summary described by Subsection (a)(1); and
88	88	(3) a reasonable amount of time to read or review the
89	89	summary.
90	90	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
91	91	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
92	92	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
93	93	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
94	94	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
95	95	______________________________ ______________________________
96	96	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
97	97	I certify that H.B. No. 63 was passed by the House on April
98	98	26, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 94, Nays 51, 2 present, not
99	99	voting.
100	100	______________________________
101	101	Chief Clerk of the House
102	102	I certify that H.B. No. 63 was passed by the Senate on May 18,
103	103	2023, by the following vote: Yeas 20, Nays 11.
104	104	______________________________
105	105	Secretary of the Senate
106	106	APPROVED: _____________________
107	107	Date
108	108	_____________________
109	109	Governor